Over 1,000 Dead In Afghan Earthquake

GAYAN, Afghanistan (AP) – Survivors are digging by hand through villages in eastern Afghanistan reduced to rubble by a powerful earthquake that killed at least 1,000 people. The Taliban and the international community that fled their takeover are now struggling to aid the disaster’s victims. The quake Wednesday was Afghanistan’s deadliest in two decades. Officials fear the toll could rise. An estimated 1,500 others were reported injured. The disaster inflicted by the 6 magnitude quake heaps more misery on a country where millions face increasing hunger and poverty and the health system has been crumbling since the Taliban retook power nearly 10 months ago amid the U.S. and NATO withdrawal.